Nigerian, Malaysian claim weightlifting golds
The first two gold medals of the 2010 Commonwealth Games weightlifting competition went to Nigeria and Malaysia.
Augustina Nwaokolo made history by winning the first gold medal of the games after setting a new Commonwealth record in the women's 48kg division on Monday. The 17-year-old schoolgirl lifted a total of 175kg with a snatch lift of 77kg and a clean-and-jerk
effort of 98kg.
"I expected to win, I trained very hard for it. I'm happy to break the records. I am used to this weight and I did in it training. I believe I could do more than that," said Nwaokolo, who also became the first Nigerian woman to win a CWG gold medal outside
of athletics.
The young Nigerian breezed through the early rounds before lifting 94kg and 98kg in the clean-and-jerk to keep defending champion Soniya Chanu of India at bay.
Needing to overcome a 9kg deficit to retain her title, the veteran Chanu attempted to lift 103kg twice but failed on both occasions. The 30-year-old, who has a personal lift of 175kg, settled for a silver medal with a 167kg total.
"It wasn't our day. We practised well, but today we couldn't do it," said Chanu after failing to win the event that India has dominated since 2002.
Another Indian, Sandhya Rani, claimed the bronze medal with a 165kg total.
Rani actually finished tied with Malaysian Zaira Zakaria but the former was handed the medal as she is lighter. Australian Erika Yamasaki, who won a bronze medal four years ago in Melbourne, did not place after failing to lift 88kg in the clean and jerk.
Later in the day, Malaysian Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim bagged the gold medal in the men's 56kg division. The veteran competitor lifted a new CWG record of 257kg to regain the title he last won in 2002.
Ibrahim, who missed the 2006 Melbourne CWG due to a doping ban, took the lead after lifting 111kg in the snatch. Indian Sukhen Dey regained the lead with a 112kg effort but Ibrahim responded with a Commonwealth record of 116kg to go to the top of the leaderboard
again.
Ibrahim lifted 141kg in the clean-and-jerk, forcing Dey to attempt a lift of 146kg. However, the 21-year-old world junior championships bronze medallist failed in his attempt and settled for the silver medal with a 252kg total. Local bet Srinivasa Rao claimed
the bronze medal with a 248kg effort.
The weightlifting competition will continue today with medals at stake in the men's 62kg and women's 53kg categories.
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